An ecology consultancy has appeared in court after a worker broke her back when she fell at a former hospital site in Essex.

The woman, a 34-year-old ecologist who has asked to remain anonymous, was surveying one of the derelict buildings for wildlife when the incident occurred at Colchester’s Severalls Hospital in May 2014. She was surveying the loft space and fell almost four metres through a hatch and onto a concrete floor.

As a result of the incident the worker suffered a fractured vertebra at the base of her back and spent seven days in Colchester general hospital. She had to wear a back brace for three months to stop any bending and twisting between the neck and waist and she was unable to return to work for several weeks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into the incident and prosecuted DF Clark Bionomique Ltd after finding that the firm, appointed to conduct a survey on the site, hadn’t properly assessed the work that was being undertaken.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that, even though the company knew that the hospital buildings hadn’t been used or maintained since the closure of the site in 1997, their assessment was too generic and failed to identify the risks posed by fragile and rotting timberwork in the derelict loft spaces.

The firm was fined £12,000 alongside costs of £1,138.50 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Edward Crick said: “The failure of DF Clark Bionomique Ltd to properly plan this wildlife survey has resulted in a significant injury to one of its employees. This is a company which undertakes surveys in locations ranging from a tree, to something considerably more complex such as the one being undertaken at the old Severalls hospital site.

“A ‘one size fits all’ approach is obviously not suitable and the company’s tick-box approach to risk assessment failed to protect this worker.

“Falling through fragile surfaces is a well-known risk, particularly in the construction industry, and any work at height needs to be properly assessed and managed, including sometimes seeing if the work needed can be done in a way that avoids any work at height at all.”